As you may already know, the Skype team at Microsoft somehow decided to discontinue the "modern" full-screen touch-friendly version of Skype for Windows 8 before any reasonable replacement was available. I received an email on June 16th, 2015 that said, "From 7 July, 2015 you’ll no longer be able to sign into the Skype for modern Windows app." After July 7th, the modern app was supposed to forward you to a website where you can download the x86 desktop version of Skype. The big advantage here would be that Skype no longer would have to keep developing two versions of the app for the same ...

Translation apps help open up the world around us, breaking down barriers of communication and making talking with someone on the other side of the world as easy as chatting with our next door neighbor. We've seen software that automates the translation process for entered text, captured images, and even audio snippets, and last year Skype tried taking things to the next level with real-time voice translation. While that started out as a signup-only preview, the service is now ready to start being used by the public at large, and today the Skype Translator preview becomes available to ...

It may have taken Microsoft a couple decades to realize it, or at least find a successful way to market it, but if you want to make big money in the software and services game these days, you don't sell people things: you get them to subscribe to things. For while that copy of Office or that hot new squad-based PC shooter game may be very attractive one-off purchases, it's the Office 365 subscription and the Xbox Live account that keep the money coming in day after day, year after year. As a result, we find ourselves presented with more subscription offers than ever before, and while $10 a ...

Pre-loaded apps can be a bit like the branded license plate holder a dealer puts on a new car: they're not really harming anything, but a serious user will likely remove them (or at least try to) first chance they get. What the companies behind them are counting on is our laziness: just as we may leave that plate holder on there and help give the dealer some free advertising, we may turn to a pre-installed app instead of going to an app store and manually searching for one. While this all sounds very dismissive of the idea, there's big business interests behind pre-loading apps on our ...

If you're anything like us, staying connected means a lot more than simply carrying around a smartphone. Once the mobile device bug gets you and the gadget-lust takes hold, it's easy to find yourself packing a tablet, a smartwatch, and maybe even a backup phone or two. But juggling multiple devices can be tricky when we're dealing with online services, with them never really sure where to contact us – and instead, that means getting the same notification on multiple devices. But now Skype, at least, is learning to be a little smarter about how it routes notifications, and today reveals a ...

Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the new Skype for Android tablets, and how this will enhance your experience on video calls. We then go through a recent design revision to the Google Nexus 5, and what this means to new Nexus 5 customers. Sprint is next as we go through the rumors of a possible merger with T-Mobile next year. Apple follows as the company might adopt wireless charging in the future iWatch we're still waiting for. We end today's show talking about Samsung's recent move to merger its mobile device and digital imaging divisions together. All this and more after ...

Multitasking on smartphones has reached a bit of a crossroads. We've seen platforms deliver all manner of optimizations for how we switch between tasks, but we're still largely talking about working with only one app at any given time. Progress to move from a full-screen to a more window-based system has been slow, but not without some victories; Samsung has its Multi Window View mode, and even YouTube teased at something along these lines a few months back, with the ability to shrink a clip down and keep browsing while it plays. Now Skype is the latest to get on this bandwagon, ...

One of the biggest ironies in tech is definitely the relationship between Skype and Windows Phone. Both software services are owned by Microsoft, and yet it seems that Skype is more inclined to provide its new features to iOS and Android users before they bring the goods to Windows Phone customers. Yes, that doesn't mean that Windows Phone users are left out in the cold about anything, but it is annoying to be last when users of the Microsoft OS shouldn't be. Starting today you can upgrade your Skype for Windows Phone app, and among the changes and improvements, you'll now be able to use ...

The BBC was able to interview Microsoft's corporate vice-president for Skype, Mark Gillett recently and revealed a few interesting things on the road-map for the future of Skype. One thing that I found odd was when Gillett was quoted as saying "I can imagine a day when you have a 3D-cellphone screen that doesn't need 3D-glasses to use it, It's less clear to me that we're close to having 3D cameras on cellphones." I think we can all imagine that day and it was back in the summer of 2011 when the Thrill 4G, HTC EVO 3D on Sprint, and LG Optimus 3D were all available. All of those phones ...

The introduction of a consumer-centric smartphone greatly changed the landscape of mobile communication. Prior to the smartphone, voice calling was still largely the primary form of communication, the quickest and easiest way to get in touch or stay in touch while on the go. Of course, the introduction of SMS (simple message service), which allowed cell phone users to send 160 character messages back and forth, changed that. And email-enabled BlackBerrys and PDAs also changed the course for mobile communication once again. But the eventual introduction of the modern smartphone is what ...

Last week, we found Skype in the headlines when the company took its video messaging feature out of the testing phase and went big with it, making it free to use on a number of mobile platforms. One of those platforms was Android, and today we get to continue the Android Skype story with the release of a new update, giving the app a fresh look. If you've used Skype recently on Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8, this Android release should look well familiar to you; Microsoft is bringing that same design language across the platform barrier. The company calls the look "bold, beautiful, and ...

Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we go through how the custom Google Edition ROMs for the HTC One and Galaxy S 4 are already leaked, and we also go through HTC's launch of the Glamour red variant of the One, even though it's not perfect news. Samsung is next as we have more Galaxy S III leaks now expecting a variant with an LCD display for some reason. T-Mobile follows as some press invites hint to something very bold making its way to the company. Skype later makes the news due to their video messaging service, even if we don't think it'll be hot. We end today's show talking about all the ...

Back in February, we saw Skype deliver a new feature, the sort of thing that's the logical next step in the evolution of video chat and instant messaging: video messaging. Users could send each other clips of themselves – not Vine-short, mind you, but less than three minutes. While interesting, the feature was a bit limited at first, and if you want the unrestrained ability to send as many video messages as you cared to, you needed a premium Skype account. Well, today that all becomes a thing of the past, and video messaging hits prime time as a free Skype feature. As of now, video ...

We live in a world of vast technological choices and options. That's a good thing. Without options we'd be left with just one solution to choose from. Quality, features, and functionality would be limited, and the choices we'd have would likely be of poor quality. At least that's the way a monopoly usually works. Instead we have three (or four) primary choices for our mobile operating systems (with more on the way). We can get hardware from any one of a dozen OEMs. We can install software on our devices to enable us to do things that would have seemed to be "science fiction" a decade ago. ...

Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the black HTC One leaks, and the rumors of a ZOE technology camera. Then Ubuntu takes the stage as it apparently will reach Nexus smartphones in a week. Then we go through some Nokia Lumia leaks, which while not hot, make it an interesting case for their push to cheaper Windows Phones. Skype goes next as we talk about their new "video messenger" changes. We end today's show talking about Samsung and their new Galaxy Altius smart watch. All this and more after the break. Stories: - Black HTC One Leaked In Alleged Press Shots, To Pack 'ZOE' ...

Video calls are a great way to take advantage of all the technology that goes into your smartphone, from tiny high-resolution cameras to speedy LTE radios. Problem is, they're not exactly the most convenient thing to just jump into at any moment (similar to how text messaging became so preferable to phone calls for many of us). In order to still give you some of the benefits video calls while letting both you and whomever you're calling do things on your own schedule, Skype has just introduced video messaging. You can think of it like a voicemail, but on video. Leave a message up to three ...

We just shared with you some thoughts on the trend of new smartphone platforms offering compatibility with Android apps as one of their key features. BlackBerry 10 is just such a platform, and besides simply offering an Android runtime, BlackBerry has been courting developers to formally repackage their existing Android apps for use on BB10. That may be a nice way for an independent Android dev to get his or her app a little more exposure, but is this the kind of thing we should expect to see from larger companies, presumably with the resources to be developing native apps? That's ...

Landscape can be a great orientation for working with tablets; it most closely mirrors our experience with computer monitors, so websites look familiar, and some of the most popular tablet games around are designed with a landscape orientation in mind. It's not perfect for everything, though, and while we often have the opportunity to switch-over to portrait mode when the mood strikes us, some apps have steadfastly clung to an insistence on landscape views. If having to video chat in landscape on your Android tablet had been a source of frustration for you, we've got good news, as the ...

Ever since Microsoft acquired Skype back in 2011, users of Windows Live Messenger (and MSN Messenger, before that) had to know that the writing was on the wall. After all, you don't sink billions of dollars into one of the most high-profile communications platform around and go on offering a competing service. Last fall, rumors surfaced that the beginning of the end was near, and almost immediately after that story broke, Microsoft went and confirmed its plans to shutter Windows Live Messenger early this year. Finally, last week Microsoft spelled-out just how Messenger would meet its fate, ...

Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we go through a our HTC Droid DNA review and some of the things that were good and bad about the device after testing it. We then talk about the recent leaks of a white LG Nexus 4 to reach the market very soon. Then we go through a new iOS app called Here Maps, which is built by Nokia to provide their maps services in a cross-platform solution. Later the news shifts to Skype, their new Android tablet app and how they're already merging Windows Live with Skype. We then end today's show by talking about Microsoft's new Ad campaign where they intend to prove ...

November has been a busy month for Skype so far. A week ago, we saw the iOS edition of the app get updated to support the iPhone 5's new widescreen aspect ratio, and just before that we got news that a preview release was available for Windows Phone 8 users. Skype continues along those lines today, announcing the arrival of Skype 3.0 for Android, with a whole bunch of changes and improvements. First off, you should be able to enjoy some noticeable improvements in audio quality thanks to the implementation of the wideband SILK audio codec. While Skype always sounded just fine, SILK really ...

Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we go through HTC and Verizon's press invite for an event in New York that we already speculate is for the launch of the much-anticipated Droid DNA. Then we go through Amazon's latest move to compete with Netflix and Hulu+ at a more aggressive price point with Amazon Prime. Then we go through AT&T's confirmed prices for Windows Phone 8 device this holiday season, which comes to the pleasant surprise of many of us in cases like the Nokia Lumia 920. Then we talk about the death of Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger and their migration to Skype. We end ...

A few months back, I wrote an installment of the Brutally Honest Question Corner dealing with the decline of the phone call, entitled "Why Are You Calling Me?" In it, I made the point that the increasing prevalence of email, SMS, and instant messaging in the mobile world is rapidly rendering voice calls a second-class communications medium. But though it may be in regression, the humble phone call remains a venerable institution. The same can't be said for its more futuristic, arguably more useful companion, the video call. If you're around my age, and were raised on a steady diet of ...